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Loyalty programs are sales promotions designed to get repeat business. Loyalty programs include
things such as frequent flier programs, hotel programs, and shopping cards for grocery stores, drugstores,
and restaurants. Sometimes point systems are used in conjunction with loyalty programs. After you
accumulate so many miles or points, an organization might provide you with a special incentive such as a
free flight, free hotel room, or free sandwich. Many loyalty programs, especially hotel and airline
programs, have partners to give consumers more ways to accumulate and use miles and points.
Rebates are popular with both consumers and the manufacturers that provide them. When you get a
rebate, you are refunded part (or all) of the purchase price of a product back after completing a form and
sending it to the manufacturer with your proof of purchase. The trick is completing the paperwork on
time. Many consumers forget or wait too long to do so. Consequently, they do not get any money back.
This is why rebates are also popular with manufacturers. Rebates sound great to consumers until they
forget to send it back.
Types of Trade Promotions
One of the most common types of sales promotions in B2B markets are trade shows. A trade show is an
event in which firms in a particular industry display and demonstrate their offerings to other
organizations they hope will buy them. There are typically many different trade shows in which one
organization can participate. Using displays, brochures, and other materials, representatives at trade
shows can identify potential customers (prospects), inform customers about new and existing products,
and show them products and materials. Representatives can also get feedback from prospects about their
company’s products and materials, and perhaps about competitors.
Companies also gather competitive information at trade shows because they can see the products other
firms are exhibiting and how they are selling them. While approximately 75 percent of representatives
attending trade shows actually buy the product(s) they see, 93 percent of attendees are influenced by what
they see at the trade shows. However, only 20 percent of organizations follow up on leads obtained at
trade shows and only 17 percent of buyers are called upon after they express interest in a particular
company’s products. [1]Figure 12.5 "A Samsung Display at the Consumer Electronics (CES) Trade Show in